--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The knowledge of numbers is one of the…" description: "\"The knowledge of numbers is one of the chief distinctions between us and the brutes.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/anonymous-1_brutes_the-knowledge-of-numbers-is-one-of-the-c_1643256.jpg" --- # The knowledge of numbers is one of the chief distinctions… ![“The knowledge of numbers is one of the chief distinctions between us and the brutes.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/anonymous-1_brutes_the-knowledge-of-numbers-is-one-of-the-c_1643256.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/anonymous-1_brutes_the-knowledge-of-numbers-is-one-of-the-c_1643256.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/anonymous-1_brutes_the-knowledge-of-numbers-is-one-of-the-c_1643256.jpg) > “The knowledge of numbers is one of the chief distinctions between us and the brutes.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Numbers distinguish humans from animals, highlighting quantitative reasoning as a key human trait. **In simple terms:** Numbers set us apart. Key Takeaway Embrace quantitative thinking. Themes science humanity reason Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - data analysis - problem solving - policy making Key Concepts mathematics cognitive evolution Questions to Reflect On - What role do numbers play in your decisions? - How can we balance data with intuition? A Different Perspective Numbers alone cannot capture qualitative experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutes/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [Distinctions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinctions/) [Distinctions Brutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinctions-brutes-586130/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Knowledge Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge-numbers-586131/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) ## Related quotes > [The highest of distinctions is service to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-highest-of-distinctions-is-service-to-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A good decision is based on knowledge, and not on numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/a-good-decision-is-based-on-knowledge-and-not-on-numbers/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Social distinctions tend to matter only at your own level and above.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/social-distinctions-tend-to-matter-only-at-your-own-level-and-above/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [Beauty can afford to laugh at distinctions: it is itself the greatest distinction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/beauty-can-afford-to-laugh-at-distinctions-it-is-itself-the-greatest/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [But there is another and greater distinction for which no truly natural or religious reason can be assigned, and that is the distinction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-is-another-and-greater-distinction-for-which-no-truly/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Some people make sharp distinctions sort of between their recreational musings and their professional work. I don't make that distinction very much](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/some-people-make-sharp-distinctions-sort-of-between-their/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [Mundane humans create distinctions between themselves, distinctions that seem ridiculous to any Shadowhunter. Their distinctions are based on race, religion, national identity, any of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/mundane-humans-create-distinctions-between-themselves-distinctions/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I don't make a lot of distinctions between things like landscape or figure painting, because to me the problems are inherently the same -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-thiebaud/i-don-t-make-a-lot-of-distinctions-between-things-like-landscape-or/) [Wayne Thiebaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-thiebaud/) > [Place, time, life, death, earth, heaven are divisions and distinctions we make, like the imaginary lines we trace upon the surface of the globe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-kemble/place-time-life-death-earth-heaven-are-divisions-and-distinctions-we/) [Fanny Kemble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-kemble/) > [I think it is absurd to give such tremendous importance to the distinctions between men and women. When I meet someone I regard that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/i-think-it-is-absurd-to-give-such-tremendous-importance-to-the/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character, can make any stand against good wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/wit-makes-its-own-welcome-and-levels-all-distinctions-no-dignity-no/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [All our distinctions ire accidental; beauty and deformity, though personal qualities, are neither entitled to praise nor censure; yet it so happens that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/all-our-distinctions-ire-accidental-beauty-and-deformity-though/) [Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-georg-ritter-von-zimmermann/) > [Words have their genealogy, their history, their economy, their literature, their art and music, as too they have their weddings and divorces, their successes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgilia-peterson/words-have-their-genealogy-their-history-their-economy-their/) [Virgilia Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgilia-peterson/) > [There is only one sex. A man and a woman are so entirely the same thing that one can scarcely understand the subtle reasons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/there-is-only-one-sex-a-man-and-a-woman-are-so-entirely-the-same/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) > [Social distinctions concern themselves ultimately with whom you may and may not marry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/social-distinctions-concern-themselves-ultimately-with-whom-you-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Brutes quotes > [Et tu Brute! (You too, Brutus!)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/et-tu-brute-you-too-brutus/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Agnosticism is the natural attitude of the evolutionist. How can a brute mind comprehend spiritual things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-jennings-bryan/agnosticism-is-the-natural-attitude-of-the-evolutionist-how-can-a/) [William Jennings Bryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-jennings-bryan/) > [War with all its glorification of brute force is essentially a degrading thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/war-with-all-its-glorification-of-brute-force-is-essentially-a/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The philosophic spirit of inquiry may be traced to brute curiosity, and that to the habit of examining all things in search of food.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-winwood-reade/the-philosophic-spirit-of-inquiry-may-be-traced-to-brute-curiosity/) [William Winwood Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-winwood-reade/) > [A good soldier is a blind, heartless, soulless, murderous machine. He is not a man. 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A famous piece of antique scripture representing a priest of that name and his two sons in the folds of two enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/laocoon-n-a-famous-piece-of-antique-scripture-representing-a-priest/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [What took me decades to learn, these kids can get on the Internet...What I learned by brute force, dealing out hands, they learn on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doyle-brunson/what-took-me-decades-to-learn-these-kids-can-get-on-the-internet-what/) [Doyle Brunson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doyle-brunson/) > [In the code of the satyagrahi, there is no such thing as surrender to brute force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/in-the-code-of-the-satyagrahi-there-is-no-such-thing-as-surrender-to/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [The civil magistrate cannot function without some ethical guidance, without some standard of good and evil. If that standard is not to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-civil-magistrate-cannot-function-without-some-ethical-guidance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our reverence for the nobility of manhood will not be lessened by the knowledge that man is in substance and in structure, one with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/our-reverence-for-the-nobility-of-manhood-will-not-be-lessened-by-the/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force--nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/they-were-conquerors-and-for-that-you-want-only-brute-force-nothing/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [When under the influence of certain (or some) reasons (or causes) (alcohol, war, etc - added Spir here) the low instincts are unbridled (or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/african-spir/when-under-the-influence-of-certain-or-some-reasons-or-causes-alcohol/) [African Spir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/african-spir/) > [I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. 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